Your starting 1,000 DWC and level-1 hacking skill only clear home-adjacent servers with requiredHackingSkill: 1. Hit those first, hacking manually or with a trivial loop script, to build a bankroll.
Hackers and machines both feed the *same* pool (hacking XP), so buy whichever is cheaper for the XP/tick you're getting — early on, Newbie hackers (100 DWC for 1 XP/tick) are the cheapest way to start passive income; Desktops (140 DWC for 3 XP/tick) actually out-XP a Newbie hacker per tick for not much more money, so lean machines slightly once you can afford the level-3 unlock.
A minimal while(true) { await ns.hack(target) } script (RAM cost 3.1 GB, comfortably under the 4 GB starting cap) is enough to keep chipping at one server continuously — the built-in 1s hack time plus cooldown keeps it from being a spin-lock.
Boss fights unlock at level 3 alongside Machines — the first boss (Script Rat, level 3) only wants a 50%+ win chance if you're right at level 3; wait until you're comfortably past a boss's required level before risking the fight, since losses cost money *and* stack toward the 3-strike Trace penalty that wipes all server money.
Mid game (level 10-40)
Cost multipliers (1.3x per hacker/machine purchase, 2.5x per RAM upgrade) mean each successive purchase gets less efficient — there's no "buy 100 of one type" endgame; diversifying across tiers and reinvesting into research often beats just stacking Newbies forever.
Research is where money actually compounds: Server Reload Time (faster regen) and Increase Resource Multiplier (+10%/level to passive XP) both make every future purchase and every future hack better, so prioritize them over raw hacker/machine spam once you can afford early levels.
Watch your RAM budget as you add more ns. calls to your script (each new method used adds its RAM cost once, regardless of how many times you call it) — ns.getServer/ns.getPlayer (0.5 GB each) let you write adaptive scripts (e.g. switch targets based on current money) but add up fast against a still-small RAM cap.
Once you're signed in, PvP is a fast way to snowball money and XP — winning nets level * 50 XP for free and 10% of the target's money, with only a 5-minute global cooldown gating you between fights (vs. hacking a single server's own per-server cooldown).
Late game (level 40+)
Hack Cooldown Reduction (unlocks at level 20) compounds directly with however many servers you're actively hacking in parallel — every level shaves 20% off the 4s base cooldown, so by level ~9-10 in that research track you're at the 500ms floor.
Late bosses have very high absolute rewards but also very long lockouts and steep money-loss percentages on failure — don't attempt one until your level comfortably clears the 50%+ success-chance point (playerLevel >= requiredLevel, and ideally playerLevel / requiredLevel well above 1, since chance = 1 - 0.5/ratio capped at 95%).
Upgrade Firewall (unlocks at level 12) is purely defensive — it only matters if you're active in PvP or a visible target for other players' attacks. Each level is worth 2% off attackers' win chance against you; stack it if you're carrying a lot of money that PvP raiders would want.
Offline progress doesn't accrue hacker/machine XP — if you're going to be away for a long stretch, it's better to start a long research project (or make sure your money is spent down / invested) than to just walk away expecting passive gains to bank up.
